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Dakshina Kannada Pilgrimage PDF
Dakshina Kannada Pilgrimage PDF
Pilgrimage to Temples
In
Dakshina Kannada
By
His articles are popular in The Young World section of THE HINDU. His e-
books on nature, environment and different cultures of people around the world
are educative and of special interest to the young.
His e-books Guide to 108 Divya Desams, Guide to 275 Siva Sthalams, The
Path of Ramanuja, Guide to Kancheepuram and Hinduism in a nutshell have
been well received in the religious circle. He was associated in the renovation
and production of two Documentary films on Nava Tirupathi Temples, and
Tirukkurungudi Temple in Tamilnadu.
Acknowledgement:
I wish to express my gratitude to the authors from whose works I gathered the
details for this book, and Courtesy, Google for some of the photographs.
Special thanks to www.scribd.com for hosting my e-books.
Introduction to Dakshina Kannada / SouthCanara.
Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts are often called Tulu Nadu, as Tulu is
the majority language in the region. However, Tulu language and the people
have been closely associated with Kannada language as Tulu itself has been
written in Kannada script. Dakshina Kannada has a totally different culture and
tradition compared to the rest of the state.
It is believed that once the Muslim ruler of Srirangapattana Tippu Sultan had
a strong desire to plunder this famous temple during his military march over
Mangalore. But, on the very previous night, he had a horrible dream in which
an angered elephant was crushing him beneath its feet. He woke up suddenly
and inquired about this ghastly dream. He has been explained that
the mysterious divine power of Lord Ganapathy of Sharavu Kshetra was
cautioning him not to resume any misadventure of plundering this famous
temple. Consequently, Tippu Sultan gave up his ill conceived adventure and
offered golden ornaments and other gifts to the presiding deity.
They chose a place near the bank of Netravathi which was once the center of
activities of sage Kapila, who had his hermitage, and turned as a great center
of education. The saints approached the King and they informed the King that
his kingdom is a hollowed place and it was sanctified by the activities of holy
saints and sages in the past. They requested the King to grant them land so
that they could build their hermitage and make it a center of their religious
activities under his protection and patronage.
For Kundavarma it was really a surprise to know that his land had such a hoary
history. It was from these saints he came to know that once upon a time there
existed a temple in his land dedicated to mother Mangaladevi. Kundavarma
carried out the advice of the two sages. and excavated the buried temple and
built a grand shrine for Goddess Sri Mangaldevi
It's a practice to hoist the 40 feet Garuda to the 62 feet tall flagpole during the
annual fair. The other places to visit around the temple are Udhbhava Linga,
Akshaya pond, the 5 feet tall statue of Thrilokeshwara and Deepasthamba.
Sakthinagar Gopalakrishna Temple, Mangalor
The idol of the Goddess is made of a soil mixture specially prepared for the
purpose. The image made of clay is a unique feature and nowhere else can
we see such a big idol. The Goddess is more than nine feet tall and wears a
dazzling crown made of precious gems. It is believed that King Suratha
presented it to the Goddess.
About 100 yards to the south of the temple there is a platform like structure
named Simhasana Katte (platform of throne). On the fourth day of the
festival the deity graces the throne and a formal pooja is performed.
Just half an hour away from Horanadu is the temple of Kalasa. This is a
temple on a hill, on the foothills of which flows the Bhadra River.
One has to climb a few steps to reach the temple.
At the entrance of the temple are the statues of two elephants, regarded
to be Ganesha and a she-elephant, his wife. It is believed that there was an
Asura and responding to the prayers of his devotees Ganesha descended on
Earth to kill him. The magical Asura took the form of a tree, and Ganesha
assumed the form of an elephant to uproot him. Seeing the struggle, a
she elephant in the forest came to help, and along with Ganesha succeeded
in uprooting the tree and putting an end to the Asura.
Since he had touched the she-elephant during the fight, Ganesha married her,
and decreed that she should take her place by his side at this place. Both the
elephant statues look identical, except that the male one is depicted as
trampling the Asura beneath his foot.
Bappanadu's Dolu (musical drum) is well known and a large drum can be found
in the temple premises. During annual car festival a community allowed to
participate in beating of drums which is done with great enthusiasm and
devotion.
Sri Ugra Narasimha of S.V. Temple , Mulki
Shri Vijayeendra Tirth Swamiji who gave deeksha to the first Swamiji of Shri
Kashi Math Samsthan, miraculously came in possession of Lord Narsimha
depicting very violent passion called 'Ugra' He wanted to keep the Idol for
himself for daily worship but in a dream the Lord appeared and ordained, "Take
me to Volalanka (Mulki) and install there. I shall remain calm and fulfill the
desires of all the devotees who take shelter under me". Accordingly from
Kerala, with a few devotees Shri Swamiji, set out for Mulki by foot. After a few
days they reached Padupanambur the capital of the Jain Kings, As the Sun set
and dusk fell. Shri Swamiji sent his men to the palace to get light for onward
journey. But surprisingly the king refused as the Swamiji did not belong to his
faith. Shri Swamiji with a smile said, "When the very Lord who gives light to all
the three worlds is with us why should we worry. Let's continue the journey."
When they had hardly crossed the outskirts of Padupanambur, the roof of the
palace suddenly caught fire and the flames touched the sky. The King and his
men could not extinguish the fire at all. In the glare of that light Shri Swamiji
completed the journey. Lord Narsimha was formally installed in Volalanka. on
Datta Jayanti Day of Margashira Poornima, considered to be the most
auspicious month according to Bhagwad Gita.
It is believed that when the King tried to rebuild the Palace, the trees felled for
timber turned into charcoal. Astrologers declared that the king had incurred the
wrath of Lord Narasimha and suggested the King to visit the temple to seek
forgiveness. He did it and only thereafter things became favourable.
UDUPI
Udupi is a divine shrine in the coastal region of Western Ghats. Situated about
60 kms from Mangalore, it is a fairly large and upcoming town that was
sanctum of Madhvacharya, the great Philosopher.
The famous temple here, has a fascinating idol of Lord Krishna installed by
the great saint Sri Madhvacharya that is richly adorned with jewels. Another
attraction of this temple is the 'Kanakana Kindi' -a small window through
which Krishna is believed to have given darshan to his ardent devotee,
Kanakadasa.
I
There are three temples in Udupi; Chandreshwara, Anantheshwara and
Sri Krishna temple. Chandreshwara. Popular belief is that King Rama
Bhoja, an ardent follower of Parashurama installed the statue of
Anantheshwara. The Chandreshwara temple was built in the spot where
Chandra (the moon) performed a penance, to get rid of the curse of
Daksha Prajapathi. The place where Chandra meditated is called as
Udupa. (Udu = a star and pa = follower) The usual practice in Udupi is
to visit Chandreswara, Anantheshwara temples and then visit Sri
Krishna temple.
There are many interesting stories behind the installation of statue of Sri
Krishna at Udupi.
One of the popular stories goes like this. The main statue of Sri Krishna
at Dwaraka got completely covered by gopichandanam A sailor from
Dwaraka loaded this heavy lump in his boat as ballast, during one of his
trips along the west coast. The ship was caught in a terrible storm while
sailing in the western coast of Malpe. When the meditating Sri
Madhvacharya sensed this by his 'aparoksha' or divine jnana he got the
ship sail safely to the shore by waving the end of his saffron robe and
quietening the storm. The pleased captain of the ship offered Sri
Madhvacharya anything in the ship in return. Sri Madhvacharya asked
for the sandalwood piece containing the statue of Sri Krishna. Later as
the story goes, Sri Madhvacharya took it to the lake, purified it and
installed it in the mutt.
In the 16th century, during Sri Vaadiraja 's rule, Kanakadasa, an ardent
believer of God, came to Udupi to worship Lord Krishna. He was not
allowed inside the temple since he was from a lower caste. Sri Krishna,
pleased by the worship of Kanakadasa created a small hole in the back
wall of the temple and turned to face the hole so that Kanakadasa could
see him. This hole came to be known as KanakanaKindi.
Anegudde
Anegudde is a beautiful temple dedicated to the Lord Vinayaka, situated
at Kumbhashi
The Lord is called Siddhi Vinayaka or Sarva Siddhi Pradaayaka. Since he is
believed to fulfill the wishes of his devotees this place is known as Mukti
Stalas which means Place where you can attain Salvation. The main
sanctum sanctorum contains the majestic figure of Vinayaka resplendent in
silver Armour, in standing posture. Of the four arms two are "varada hasta"
indicating his inclination to grant boons. Two hands point to his feet, as a means
to Salvation.. One can also visit the Mahalingeshwara temple nearby.
The Sthala Purana indicates that. Kumbasura, an Asura troubled the sages and
disrupt the sacred yagna. At this time Lord Ganesha presents Bheema, the
strongest among the Pandavas, with a sword. Bheema to fight Kumbasura and
slays him. Thus the yagna was completed successfully.
Hattangadi Udhbava Ganabathi
Hattiangadi, about 8 kms to the the northeast of Kundapur, which is famous for
the ancient Siddhi Vinayaka Temple, also houses many other ancient Temples
and Jaina Basadis. Gopalakrishna, Lokanatheshwara, Maraladevi,
Shankaranarayan, Shivamunishwara, Ekantheshwara and Shaktharabrahma
Kollur Temple
Kollur is known for its association with Aadi Sankara. Mookambika is said to
have appeared before Aadi Sankara here, and he is said to have installed her
image at this shrine. Mookambika is regarded as a manifestation of Shakti,
Saraswathi and Mahalakshmi.
The origin of the name "Murudeshwara" dates to the time of Ramayana. The
Hindu Gods attained immortality and invincibility by worshipping a divine
lingam called the AtmaLinga. King Ravana wanted to attain immortality by
obtaining the AtmaLinga.
Since the AtmaLinga belonged to Lord Shiva, Ravana worshipped Shiva with
devotion. Pleased by his prayers Lord Shiva appeared before him. Ravana
requests the AtmaLinga as his boon. Lord Shiva agreed to give him the boon
with a condition that it should never be placed on the ground till he installs it in
the temple, if not it would get embedded at the place where it is placed.
Having obtained his boon, Ravana started back on his journey to Lanka.
Sage Narada, fearing that Ravana may become invincible, approached Lord
Vishnu to retrieve it. Ravana used to perform his rituals religiously in the
evening. Lord Vishnu and Ganesha decided to exploit his devotion. As Ravana
was nearing Gokarna, Lord Vishnu blotted the sun with his Sudarshana Chakra
to make it look like evening. A Brahmin boy (Ganesha) approached Ravana,
who requested him to hold the Aatmalinga until he performed his rituals.
Ravana returned to find the boy gone and the Aatmalinga on the ground. Lord
Vishnu removed his Chakra, and it was daylight again. An angry Ravana tried to
uproot the Aatmalinga. He threw away everything covering the Linga, including
its cloth, to a placed called Mrideshwara in Kanduka-Giri (Kanduka Hill).
Mrideshwara has been renamed to Murudeshwara.
Jog Falls
Jog Falls, created by the River Sharavathi, is the highest waterfalls in India and
is situated in the Shimoga district, of Karnataka. It can be reached from
Marudeeswar. The falls are also known as Gerusoppe Falls or Jogada Falls.
situated in a pristine and scenic location. As the river plunges 292 m down, it
separates into four distinct waterfalls popularly named Raja, Rocket, Rani and
Roarer. During the monsoons, the falls are hidden behind a thin veil of mist,
surrounded by lush green vegetation, giving the place a mystical atmosphere.
Sringeri
The ancient temple of Sri Sharada, the presiding deity of Sringeri has a glorious
history that begins with the setting up of the Dakshinamnaya Peetham by Sri
Shankara Bhagavatpada. Originally it was an unpretentious shrine with the
Murti of Sharada made of sandalwood, installed over the Sri Chakra that Sri
Adi Shankara carved on a rock. Subsequently Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha and
Sri Vidyaranya had a temple built in the Kerala style, with timber and tiled roof.
Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha substituted the sandalwood idol with the present
golden idol.
Navaratri festival is celebrated on a grand scale every year for 11 days with
Shathachandi Homa Poornahuti performed on the Mahanavami day. On the
Chaitra Shukla Poornima day, special Puja is performed in Sri Sharada Shrine.
The main deity of Annapoorna is made of gold and she looks so beautiful. A
sense of fulfilment is felt when a person visits this temple and it is said that a
person who seeks the goddess' blessings would never have any scarcity for food
in life. It is believed that lord Shiva once had a curse and that this curse was
reversed when the lord visited Goddess Annapoorna and sought her blessings.
There is a small tank near by the temple. All the clay offerings are made in a
separate place called Mannina Harake Bana (Clay Offerings Place) which is
close to temple. One can see a huge collection of clay sculptures there.
It is believed that temple is around 700 years old.But no one in the temple
knows the importance behind these clay offerings.
Dharmasthala Sri Manjunatha Swami
Let us all live together, Eat together, and grow together Without any feelings of
Animosity. This is the essence of all our religious traditions, and this philosophy
in action is the glory of Dharmasthala.
The
Dharmastala was formerly called Kuduma or Koduma. . Long ago about 800
years before Jain Chieftain Birmanna Pergade and his wife Ammu Ballathi
lived a pious life in a village called Nelliadi Beedu. They belong to the Pergade
family, who were very simple, generous and affectionate people. According to
the legend, the angels of God visited them in their dream and informed them to
continue their worship and their practice of hospitality, the Dharma Daivas -
Kalarahu, Kalarkayi, Kumaraswamy and Kanyakumari requested him to build
separate shires for each of them.
The Chieftain built the shrines and priests requested him to install a Shivalinga
beside the native Daivas. Annappa Swamy procured the linga of Lord
Manjunatheshwara from Kadri, near Mangalore. Nrusimha Saligrama is placed
by his side. Subsequently, the Manjunatha temple was built around the Linga
Free boarding and lodging with modern amenities are also to all the visiting
devotees provided with sincerely
Long ago, a temple was in control of a Royal family. During one of the battles,
the temple was destroyed. At that time, cowherds in and around this area took
away the Mahaganapathi idol and started worshipping wherever they went and
finally installing the idol here at Sowthadka.
They were growing cucumber and during their worship started offering the same
to Lord Mahaganapathi of this temple. In Kannada, "sowthe" means cucumber
and "adka" means meadow hence the name "Sowthadka".
Kukke Subramanya
Kukke Subramanya is located amidst hills of Subramanya in western ghats.
Lord Subramanya is the presiding deity worshiped in the form of a Cobra
Lord Subramanya was received by Lord Indra along with other Gods; Pleased
by the success of the war Indra prayed the Lord to be kind enough to marry his
daughter Devasena. This was agreed upon courteously and the marriage took
place on the banks of Kumaradhara on 'Margashira Shudda Shashti'. Lord
Kumaraswamy also gave darshan to Vasuki the head of nagas, who was making
a penance here.
Vasuki prayed to the Lord to stay along with him permanently at this place and
the Lord granted him this boon. From that time it is believed that the Lord has
made his spiritual presence in this shrine along with his wife Devasena and
Vasuki. Every year a famous car festival is being held here on 'Margashira
Shuddha Shashti' with special poojas to the Lord.
Pilgrims going to the Temple have to cross the Kumaradhara River, taking a
holy bath in it before they go on to the temple to have darshan. The devotees
enter the courtyard from behind and walk around to go before the idol. There is
Garuda pillar covered with silver between the sanctuary and the portico
entrance. It is believed that the pillar was charmed and planted there to shield
the devotees from the poison flames streaming from the breath of Vasuki who
resides inside.